Alcatel Alenia Space announced Nov. 17 that it has finished the installation of 51 weather data receiving stations in Africa, linking 47 countries to the Meteosat Second Generation (MSG) weather satellite. Alcatel Alenia Space is prime contractor for this deployment, which will bolster environmental monitoring in Africa.

The initial contract was signed in November 2002 with the Kenyan Meteorological Department and falls within the scope of the PUMA project (Preparation for Use of MSG in Africa), launched by Eumetsat and the European Commission in 1996. The project is financed by the European Commission through the European Development Fund and represents a considerable step forward for meteorological monitoring over Africa and the Indian Ocean.